Canonical URL: https://giftcard.news/research-trends/virtual-incentives-publishes-guidance-on-incentive-catalogs-in-market-re-ef1585043f37/ --- description: Virtual Incentives links reward choice to panel recruitment and retention, drawing on its December 2025 US survey of incentive preferences. title: Virtual Incentives: Gift Card Catalog Design for Research Panels image: https://giftcard.news/images/social/v1/virtual-incentives-gift-card-catalog-design-research-panels-abd10c59a3ef8fa16a19e74974220a2e.jpg --- 1. [Home](https://giftcard.news/) 2. [Research & Trends](https://giftcard.news/research-trends/) # Virtual Incentives: Gift Card Catalog Design for Research Panels Virtual Incentives links reward choice to panel recruitment and retention, drawing on its December 2025 US survey of incentive preferences. By [Suzie Elis](https://giftcard.news/author/suzie-elis/) April 14, 2026 2 min read Share [ ](https://x.com/intent/post?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgiftcard.news%2Fresearch-trends%2Fvirtual-incentives-publishes-guidance-on-incentive-catalogs-in-market-re-ef1585043f37%2F%3Futm%5Fsource%3Dx%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dsocial&text=Virtual%20Incentives%3A%20Gift%20Card%20Catalog%20Design%20for%20Research%20Panels "X") [ ](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgiftcard.news%2Fresearch-trends%2Fvirtual-incentives-publishes-guidance-on-incentive-catalogs-in-market-re-ef1585043f37%2F%3Futm%5Fsource%3Dlinkedin%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dsocial "LinkedIn") [ ](https://wa.me/?text=Virtual%20Incentives%3A%20Gift%20Card%20Catalog%20Design%20for%20Research%20Panels%20https%3A%2F%2Fgiftcard.news%2Fresearch-trends%2Fvirtual-incentives-publishes-guidance-on-incentive-catalogs-in-market-re-ef1585043f37%2F%3Futm%5Fsource%3Dwhatsapp%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dsocial "WhatsApp") ![Source image for Virtual Incentives Publishes Guidance on Incentive Catalogs in Market Research](https://giftcard.news/images/variants/v1/virtual-incentives-gift-card-catalog-design-research-panels-source-image-publishes-guidance-w1200.webp) Photo: Source: virtualincentives.com Reward catalog design can influence which respondents join and remain in a research panel, [Virtual Incentives](https://giftcard.news/company/virtual-incentives/) argues in guidance published on April 14, 2026\. The company recommends offering different types of rewards rather than assuming that a single gift card or payment option will appeal to everyone. According to Virtual Incentives, no single reward choice has universal appeal, and offering only one option or a few limited options can leave a significant portion of potential panelists behind. The company cites the concept of mental accounting, introduced by Nobel Prize-winning economist [Richard Thaler](https://giftcard.news/person/richard-thaler/), which explains why people treat different types of money differently. For instance, a tax refund is often spent on indulgent items, while a regular paycheck goes to living expenses. Virtual Incentives conducted an online survey of 200 US respondents in December 2025\. It found that 59% planned to use their incentive for a personal treat, while 25% intended to put it toward bills or essential expenses. The company points to the differing preferences as a reason to offer major retailers, experiential rewards, gaming credits, cash-like options and charitable giving within a research reward catalog. Your free reader account ## Continue reading for free. Create your account or sign in to get unlimited access. [ Continue with LinkedIn ](https://giftcard.news/api/reader/auth/linkedin/?returnTo=%2Fresearch-trends%2Fvirtual-incentives-publishes-guidance-on-incentive-catalogs-in-market-re-ef1585043f37%2F)[ Continue with Google ](https://giftcard.news/api/reader/auth/google/?returnTo=%2Fresearch-trends%2Fvirtual-incentives-publishes-guidance-on-incentive-catalogs-in-market-re-ef1585043f37%2F)[ Continue with Facebook ](https://giftcard.news/api/reader/auth/facebook/?returnTo=%2Fresearch-trends%2Fvirtual-incentives-publishes-guidance-on-incentive-catalogs-in-market-re-ef1585043f37%2F) No payment required. Newsletter signup is optional. [Already registered? Sign in](https://giftcard.news/login/?returnTo=%2Fresearch-trends%2Fvirtual-incentives-publishes-guidance-on-incentive-catalogs-in-market-re-ef1585043f37%2F) ## Sources and documents ExpandCollapse * [Why Your Incentive Catalog Is the Most Overlooked Tool in Market Research](https://www.virtualincentives.com/why-your-incentive-catalog-is-the-most-overlooked-tool-in-market-research/?utm%5Fsource=giftcard.news) — virtualincentives.com ## In this article ### Companies * [Virtual Incentives](https://giftcard.news/company/virtual-incentives/) ### People * [Richard Thaler](https://giftcard.news/person/richard-thaler/) Share [ ](https://x.com/intent/post?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgiftcard.news%2Fresearch-trends%2Fvirtual-incentives-publishes-guidance-on-incentive-catalogs-in-market-re-ef1585043f37%2F%3Futm%5Fsource%3Dx%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dsocial&text=Virtual%20Incentives%3A%20Gift%20Card%20Catalog%20Design%20for%20Research%20Panels "X") [ ](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgiftcard.news%2Fresearch-trends%2Fvirtual-incentives-publishes-guidance-on-incentive-catalogs-in-market-re-ef1585043f37%2F%3Futm%5Fsource%3Dlinkedin%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dsocial "LinkedIn") [ ](https://wa.me/?text=Virtual%20Incentives%3A%20Gift%20Card%20Catalog%20Design%20for%20Research%20Panels%20https%3A%2F%2Fgiftcard.news%2Fresearch-trends%2Fvirtual-incentives-publishes-guidance-on-incentive-catalogs-in-market-re-ef1585043f37%2F%3Futm%5Fsource%3Dwhatsapp%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dsocial "WhatsApp") ![Portrait of Suzie Elis](https://giftcard.news/images/variants/v1/suzie-elis-editorial-portrait-w320.webp) About the author ## [Suzie Elis](https://giftcard.news/author/suzie-elis/) Journalist — Gift Cards & Digital Gifting Suzie Elis covers gift card products, digital gifting and distribution for Gift Card News. From reading to building ## Your next move in gift cards. Tell us what you’re building. We’ll help you explore suitable providers. [Find a provider ](https://giftcard.news/find-a-provider/) ## Related articles [Research & Trends](https://giftcard.news/research-trends/) Analysis ### [AI Can Shop for You. Can It Spend Your Gift Cards?](https://giftcard.news/research-trends/ai-can-shop-for-you-can-it-spend-your-gift-cards/) [Oliver Reed](https://giftcard.news/author/oliver-reed/) September 17, 2026 17 min [Research & Trends](https://giftcard.news/research-trends/) Analysis ### [Gift Card Fraud in the United States](https://giftcard.news/research-trends/gift-card-fraud-in-the-united-states/) [Oliver Reed](https://giftcard.news/author/oliver-reed/) September 17, 2026 66 min [Research & Trends](https://giftcard.news/research-trends/) Analysis ### [Can You Cash Out Your Gift Card? A State-by-State Guide](https://giftcard.news/research-trends/can-you-cash-out-your-gift-card-state-by-state-guide/) [Oliver Reed](https://giftcard.news/author/oliver-reed/) September 17, 2026 79 min ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://giftcard.news/#publisher","name":"Gift Card News","url":"https://giftcard.news/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://giftcard.news/brand/giftcard-news-logo.svg"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https://giftcard.news/author/suzie-elis/#person","name":"Suzie Elis","url":"https://giftcard.news/author/suzie-elis/","description":"Suzie Elis covers gift card products, digital gifting and distribution for Gift Card News.","jobTitle":"Journalist — Gift Cards & Digital Gifting","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://giftcard.news/images/suzie-elis-editorial-portrait.webp","contentUrl":"https://giftcard.news/images/suzie-elis-editorial-portrait.webp","width":256,"height":256,"caption":"Illustrated 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